Anyway, I try not to buy into the hype, relying more on probable potential instead of best-case scenarios of planets lining up to present miracles.

But players can make you believe.

If you are an Astros fan, Hunter Pence’s words might give you a more positive feeling about the 2011 season.

The biggest star on the Astros – take my word for it, he is the most popular player on the team – thinks his team might shake up the world.

“We’re excited,” Pence said. “I feel that this team has the opportunity to do something special. We’re hungry. Hopefully we can lay low. We don’t need anyone to talk about us, we just need to go out there and prove it everyday.”

• • •

Astros followers are probably going to like newcomer Bill Hall.

A two-time community service award winner with the Brewers, should provide an example for younger players to emulate.

He hasn’t been on the team long – he signed with Houston on Dec. 20 – but he has quickly established himself as a leader in the clubhouse.

“I’m trying to bring the mentality that you know you gotta know you can win on a daily basis,” Hall said. “You gotta feel like when you step on that field there is nobody that can beat you.

“From the short time I was in Boston, I saw that those guys knew every single day that they were going to go out and win. Even with all the injuries last year, we still felt like we were going to win everyday. You gotta have that mentality.”

• • •

Retired pitcher Doug Brocail gave what I thought was a humorous thought on teammates getting along, and perhaps the funniest thing about it is he wasn’t joking.

“But if a pitcher from another team hits a guy on my team, even a guy that I don’t like, a payback is coming. You know when you get in the clubhouse and walk through those doors it is time to go to work. And you work together. Even if you don’t like each other.”

• • •

I find it interesting that Hunter Pence told me that a couple of years ago he and Wandy Rodriguez were the only players on the 25-man major league roster to show up at Minute Maid during the winter to work out.

NFL teams have a 90-plus percent participation rate for their offseason programs. The NBA is very similar, with players gathering throughout the summer to play basketball.

This winter, Pence said there were too many players around for him to keep track.

“Guys in the big leagues who will be contributors on the team or are expected to be contributors very soon were there,” Pence said. “It was a different vibe.”